Update on ELD Mandates – Canada & U.S.

December 18, 2018, marks a year since the U.S. electronic logging device (ELD) mandate took effect, and authorities are reporting widespread compliance. According to joc.com, less than 1% of all roadside truck inspections in May 2018 resulted in a driver being cited for operating without an ELD.

This high rate of compliance should be encouraging to Transport Canada, which announced that operators in Canada will be required to report on-duty, off-duty and driving time using ELDs rather than paper logbooks by 2020. The proposed Canadian mandate, which will apply to federally regulated motor carriers and commercial truck and bus drivers, was announced the same day U.S. rules took effect last December.

According to Transport Canada, the new regulations will deliver administrative cost savings and improve road safety as electronic logs help ensure all carriers are complying with Hours of Service (HOS) rules that reduce the potential for driver fatigue.

Comparing ELD regulations

Much of the proposed rule aligns with U.S. requirements. However, there are some differences. Here’s a quick comparison of the mandates. It’s based on information under consideration for Canada’s ELD mandate because technology and regulatory standards are still being reviewed.

Both mandates require an ELD that:

Includes GPS tracking and synchronizes with the vehicle’s engine

Has an on-screen display to show at roadside inspections

Automatically captures driving time, including unidentified driving

Has a mechanism to verify logs and agree to edits

Allows drivers to use special driving statuses

Can generate output files in different formats for inspectors

Exempt pre-2000 vehicles

Canada’s mandate

Doesn’t require capturing the VIN number

Has no self-registration/certification process for ELDs

Requires the ELD to:

accurately track and manage deferred off-duty time

allow for a mechanism to enter hours captured elsewhere (e.g., driving done for another company)

include HOS cycle details and allow drivers a mechanism to switch between them

Speculation that the final ELD mandate will be similar to the current U.S. rule is welcome news for Canadian carriers engaged in cross-border trade and already complying with the U.S. mandate. By further aligning Canadian and U.S. logging device regulations, Canadian operators could potentially use the same logging device in both countries.

Effects of the U.S. Mandate

Many people in the transportation industry anticipated problems associated with the new ELD mandate, such as thousands of drivers leaving the profession and large numbers of out-of-service orders1 on drivers after the April 1 full enforcement. However, that has not materialized.

In fact, it has been reported that the percentage of driver inspections with at least one HOS violation actually dropped from December 2017 to May 2018. Due to compliance with the ELD mandates, hours of service were being logged electronically. The result was a significant drop in HOS rules violations as the ELD mandate took effect.

Results from the U.S. ELD mandates support Transport Canada’s analysis that its proposed ELD rule will help not only reduce injuries and fatalities on the road but will provide “an improved quality of life for drivers.” This benefit will be due in part to increased adherence to HOS rules, which provides more recuperative rest periods to reduce driver fatigue, a critical risk factor associated with motor vehicle crashes.

Timeline for Canada’s ELD Mandate

As of late December 2018, the official timeline for implementing Canada’s ELD mandate has not been finalized. However, most industry experts anticipate the introduction process for ELD in Canada will be similar to the U.S. roll-out. That includes public comment after the original announcement, publication of the rule, a mandatory compliance date, and grandfather clause completion.

If Transport Canada does follow the U.S. model, there will be a two-year transition phase allowing carriers and drivers to install ELDs and complete training. Full compliance will be required after this preparation period, which could be as early as December 2019, but more likely in 2020. Plus, there will be an exception for existing devices such as e-logs, Automatic On-board Recording Devices (AOBRDs) and EOBRs, which are expected to be permitted until 2022.

Preparing for ELD Compliance

Although some details of the ELD mandates in Canada are still under review, one thing is certain – motor carriers and drivers will be required to use an ELD in the near future. Therefore, carriers and shippers should be planning now to ensure they will be compliant and competitive when the mandate goes into effect.

To ensure you’re ready to comply with the new regulations, contact Descartes PinPoint GPS Solutions to learn more about our ELD-compliant software services that pair state-of-the-art technology and advanced industry knowledge with exceptional customer service and support.

Descartes Telematics is registered with the FMCSA as a certified ELD provider and can also help you manage compliance of other regulatory initiatives such as AOBRD Hours-of-Service, IFTA, Hazmat and HAACP. Our ELD Resource Center provides the latest news and timelines associated with the FMCSA and Transport Canada mandates.

Descartes Acquires PinPoint

PinPoint has been acquired by Descartes Systems Group, the global leader in logistics technology and global trade content. Descartes’ solutions extend the command of logistics operations, helping the world’s largest and most connected logistics community to quickly reduce costs, improve service and comply with customs and transportation regulations. The acquisition makes PinPoint’s customers members of the Global Logistics Network, the world’s premier global logistics community –– facilitating improved performance and productivity of logistics operations around the world. As part of this community, PinPoint’s customers will have access to the Global Logistics Network and additional solutions via Descartes’ Logistics Technology Platform. For instance, PinPoint customers will now have access to Descartes’ Routing, Mobile and Telematics suite, an integrated platform of technology solutions for managing delivery operations. The suite unites optimized delivery route planning, dispatching and GPS tracking, mobile applications, vehicle telematics, fleet/driver compliance and performance analytics. Read more about this acquisition by visiting the Descartes website: https://www.descartes.com/pinpoint.

Geotab Connect – June 11 – 13, 2018

Geotab’s biggest annual conference is held to give people the opportunity to connect with Resellers, Customers, Marketplace partners, Geotab employees, industry speakers, and experts.

We attended this year and were included in the conversation about key industry topics including hearing how open data is transforming the telematics landscape, best practices in security, and how fleet tracking is helping companies reduce costs.

Truck World 2018 – Raffle Draw Winner

PinPoint was honoured to gift Manpreet Sidhu from Cargo Transport with an LG Tablet from our raffle draw at this year’s Truck World Show! Special thanks to Vikram Gill of Relevant Connections Inc for donating the Tablet!

Gathering of UL Alumni

PinPoint is proud to be part of the Gathering of University of Limerick Alumni event at the Fifth Social Pubhouse on Thursday, May 31st at 6 pm, hope to see you there!

Truck World Show 2018

What a great show! We had so much fun at the Truck World Show and we can’t wait to see you next time! We would like to say thank you to everyone for spending time visiting us!

As always, PinPoint strives for the highest levels of customer service and is continually making improvements in this regard. If you have any valuable opinions you would like to share with us, please refer to our contact information and feel free to reach out.

Wonderful Moments:

Customer Retention

PinPoint entered the GPS business over a decade ago, and it never ceases to amaze me how many of our customers have been with us from the beginning. Our account base has grown year over year, and that is in large part due to the loyalty of our existing customers. It has been a critical part of our success.

Every company knows it is costly to replace lost business, but PinPoint placed an emphasis on customer retention early on and it has paid great dividends in terms of customer loyalty and long-term relationships.

I was recently asked how PinPoint is different and why we’ve been able to keep these long-term customers. I think it really comes down to these 5 things:

Evolving When Necessary: Our products have evolved over time to address the needs of our clients and stay ahead of the technology curve. We’ve also adapted our internal processes many times over the years to better serve our growing customer base and continually improve on how we do things.

Focusing on our Core Competencies. In a time where many companies are trying to be all things to all people, PinPoint has been very selective about the solutions and services it has brought to market. We remain primarily a GPS and Telematics company, which allows us to provide superior expertise.

Employee Engagement: Everyone at PinPoint knows that employee engagement is a key part of our culture. Every employee is encouraged to look for better ways to do things, think outside the box, and understand each other’s roles. In addition, we all know that the customer is paramount. In every role, staff are encouraged to understand that everything we do has an impact on customer experience.

Customer Engagement: Basically, we listen to our customers. We welcome feedback about our products, how customers use them, what else is in the market, and our customer service. We provide customers with flexibility where possible, and use feedback to improve our delivery of GPS products and services.

Always Looking to Increase Value: In a world where technology is constantly evolving and commoditization is an issue, adding value is critical. When a customer buys a GPS system from PinPoint, we make it our mission to make sure they are getting the maximum value from that investment. This may involve periodic account reviews, notifications for down devices, customer surveys, proactive phone calls and e-mails, training sessions, custom reporting, and so on.

The GPS landscape is constantly changing, most recently with the implementation of regulatory requirements around Electronic Log Data (ELD). It’s been great to see how many of our customers have come to us to seek our expertise and help them navigate. We look forward to many more years of success for our customers and PinPoint alike.

Truck World 2018

PinPoint is excited about exhibiting at TruckWorld 2018. Come and see us at booth #7

2018 Hiring: Market Research Analyst

About us:

PinPoint GPS Solutions is a leading provider of GPS fleet tracking and mobile workforce management. With more than 10 years in telecommunications management, we understand the technology requirements to help businesses achieve objectives and get to the next level. We have clients, big and small, across Canada and the United States. We serve various key industries including: construction and trades, logistics, waste management, landscape and snow removal and energy.

Working with our most advanced plug-and-play products and end-to-end vehicle tracking systems on the market, your business can benefit from the following:

Increase return on fleet investments

Reduce fleet labour and fuel costs

Increase productivity

Improve customer service

Reduction in business risk

Increase employee appreciation

Not only does our products and services help companies increase their return on investment through fleet measurements. Our system is made easy with our customizable reports, tracking programs and array of professional services tailored to our Customers needs.

PinPoint is also undertaking a business development project to review Electric Vehicle technology as well as Smart City applications as related to Utility based clients. This is an exciting area of review that will enable PinPoint to engage in some unique opportunities.

Title – Market Research Analyst (8-12-month Coop or Internship term – Enrolled in 3rd, 4th or MBA year)

2018 Hiring: Business Development Representative

PinPoint GPS Solutions is a leading provider of GPS fleet tracking and mobile workforce management. With more than 20 years in telecommunications management, we understand the technology requirements to help businesses achieve objectives and get to the next level. We have clients, big and small, across Canada and the United States. We serve various key industries including: construction and trades, logistics, waste management, landscape and snow removal and energy. Working with our most advanced plug-and-play products and end-to-end vehicle tracking systems on the market, your business can benefit from the following:

Increase return on fleet investments

Reduce fleet labour and fuel costs

Increase productivity

Improve customer service

Reduction in business risk

Increase employee appreciation

Our products and services help companies increase their return on investment through fleet measurements. Our system is made easy with our customizable reports, tracking programs and array of professional services tailored to their needs.

Working in a fast-paced, technical environment, the Senior Account Representative will ensure success of our mid-market customers by managing the client experience from the initial identification of customers through to the close of the sale ensuring optimal ROI. The role will be responsible for developing long-term relationships with customers, collaborating with key business executives and stakeholders. The Senior Account Executive will act as a liaison between the customer and cross-functional internal departments to ensure adoption and user engagement that ultimately drives customer retention and growth.

Job Responsibilities:

Develop new and maintain strategic business relationships with major accounts to promote the Company’s products and services and profitable business relationships.

Ensures a high level of customer satisfaction and retention by building customer relationships and providing tailored service and creative solutions.

2018 Hiring: General Accountant

The General Accountant and is responsible for contributing to the development of the accounting and finance department. The Accountant will work closely with all Stakeholders within the organization as well as vendors and customers.

Responsibilities:

Reconciling bank, clearing and investment accounts

Posts customer payments by recording payments

Verifies validity of account discrepancies by obtaining and investigating information from sales, customer service departments, and from customers;

What do we need from our new customer?

How to sign up?

COSTI Syrian Refugee Professional Internship Program

This article is retrieved from COSTI Immigrant Services, please go to itswebsiteto review the full content.

Over 25,000 refugees began their journey from Syria to Canada in 2015. According to Mario Calla, Executive Director of COSTI Immigrant Services in Toronto, “escaping from suffering and persecution is just the first step in a long journey for refugees. When they arrive here in their new country, they encounter a new series of challenges.” Our goal, he says, is to “help refugee families get the best start for their new life in Canada.”

COSTI, along with a network of partners, is on the front line of refugee reception and settlement. They are the lead agency helping Government Sponsored Refugees (GSRs) in the Toronto region. Like many service providers, COSTI finds working with refugees both a rewarding and challenging experience. What works best, according to Julie Darboh, COSTI’s Director of Employment Services, is a targeted and focused approach: ”Clients such as the Syrian newcomers require more hand-holding to assist them in gaining their confidence and self-worth. Such a specialized service is better able to prepare program participants, identify niche markets and opportunities for the unique skills and abilities of a focused and marginalized client groups.”

And like all newcomers, the faster refugees find employment, the quicker they will engage and become self-sufficient members of the community.

How it works

COSTI screened refugee candidates for their English skills and professional backgrounds, eventually accepting twenty-seven into the refugee professional internship program. The candidates represented a wide range of professional backgrounds, including architects, engineers, accountants, social workers, IT and business specialists, software developers, and more. COSTI’s employment programs for internationally trained Individuals formed the backbone of the initial orientation and program development.

A two week compressed workshop provided information about adapting to workplace culture and preparing a professional portfolio. COSTI specialists worked with each client to guide them through the job application and interview process. That included tailoring each curriculum vitae (CV) to the Canadian context, using an anonymous CV format designed to reduce the risk of overt, or ‘unconscious’ discrimination that a growing body of research has highlighted as a barrier to immigrant employment.

COSTI also provided real-world insight and network. The refugee candidates had access to local guest speakers to learn exactly what employers were looking for. Their credentials were assessed by World Education Services (WES), under a pilot Alternative Credential Assessment for Syrian Refugees project.

According to Mahmoud Bakkar, a program participant who was an IT professional in Damascus, “COSTI training was really unique. If focused on soft skills. It hit on workplace communications, culture and work ethics specific to a Canadian context. The internship itself exposed me to the Canadian workplace culture, and allowed me to sharpen my soft skills, work with professionals. It increased my self-confidence and awareness. And that’s what I truly gained. That was the key for me to land the next job.”

As the Syrian professionals were taking their crash course in Canadian employment, COSTI was reaching out to its extensive employer network. Like the many Canadians who stepped forward during the Syrian refugee crisis, the response from Toronto area employers has been catalytic. COSTI found employers who were willing to host workers for the full 10 week internships. Many were willing to top up their interns’ wages in recognition of the applicant’s skills and experience.

Bakkar notes the benefits of a paid internship: “Having internships paid is a win-win situation. It encourages the employer to hire newcomers and immigrants, and helps the employee to practice in the new work culture and gain the required soft skills while earning an income. The first job that a newcomer or an immigrant gets is like the foundation stone for their immigration journey to Canada — getting this right would make the whole journey smooth.”

Employer efforts were transformative

Pinpoint GPS Solutions, a fleet management business that has partnered with COSTI for over 20 years, was quick to respond to COSTI’s new internship program. COSTI had no trouble providing three applicants for a general accounting position they needed to support a challenging systems implementation involving an integrated financial and accounting module. Among them, Samer Arafeh stood out for his extensive international experience but was also over-qualified for the job, with poor English skills. That was a potential problem, as the company’shiring manager and small business owner, Vince Arone, knows well: “It’s important to get the best fit possible for each job.” They took a chance anyways, offering Arafeh a 3 month internship. “Even though this was not our original hiring plan,” Arone comments, “Samer’s professionalism and willingness to learn helped convince us.”

It turned out to be a win-win proposition for both parties. Arone: “I learned that our team member from Syria just needed a “first chance,” an opportunity to be in a Canadian office to see how we do business, understand the processes, the protocol, speaking to fellow employees, answering emails and phone calls from customers and suppliers. Not to mention the slang and local business terms”

On his side, the highly qualified Arafeh learned that he’d launched his career in Canada with a welcoming, multicultural team. He realized “how similar we are regardless of where we are born.”

The risk paid off. Today, Arafeh is fully employed and a valued team member at Pinpoint GPS Systems.

Upcoming ORBA Events

ORBA 91st Convention and Annual General Meeting

February 5-6, 2018 – Fairmont Royal York, Toronto

PinPoint will be exhibiting at the 91st Annual Ontario Road Builders Association Convention (ORBA). ORBA has been the voice of the road building industry, representing interests of contractors and goods and service providers, which employ over 30,000 workers. As a long time member of ORBA, PinPoint holds a position on the Health and Safety Committee, and continuously supports technology initiatives for Safety and Compliance through the use of Big Data Telematics.

ORBA Superbowl Huddle

PinPoint will also be attending the ORBA Superbowl Huddle Event at Real Sports, Sunday February 4th. We have a limited quantity of tickets available. Please contact Tim Vezina tvezina@pinpointgps.ca for more information.

Geotab DRIVE HOS Documents

With ELDs now being mandatory in the United States, please ensure that these documents are in every vehicle at all times:

Geotab Wins GreenFleet Award for IT Innovation

Geotab is delighted to have been named the winner of the GreenFleet award in the IT Innovation category for advancement in fleet technology. The GreenFleet Awards recognize organizations that have successfully adopted low emission vehicles and innovative fuel saving solutions, along with manufacturers and innovators of low carbon technologies.

Impressed with the Geotab GO telematics device, which plugs into a vehicle’s OBD II port and monitors information including dangerous driving habits and CO2 emissions, the judges also praised Geotab’s company ethos, to help businesses improve road safety and reduce their environmental impact.

Supporting Hybrid and Electric Fleets

Geotab is dedicated to continuously advancing its technological capabilities and is grateful to be recognized externally for the work it does. Part of this work includes the support for hybrid and electric vehicles, as well as alternative and advancing fuel technologies such as CNG, LPG and Hydrogen.

Integrating with Innovation

As a key focus for the business, Geotab is continuing to push its emphasis on electric vehicles. In addition to integration with Tesla, BMW and Kia/Hyundai, we are having a number of exciting conversations with more electric vehicle manufacturers and participating on projects supporting sustainable infrastructure.

Another important partnership for the business is that with Adgero S.A.S. which uses Geotab telematics as part of its Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS) on rigids and semi-trailers to gather information on fuel consumption, vehicle performance and geo-localisation. This data allows Adgero S.A.S. to offer a real value-add to its HGV operators clients through maximum fuel economy gains.

Working Towards a Greener Economy

Geotab recognizes innovation, development and evolution as necessary to staying ahead, and this is reflected in the organization’s core values of “developing for the future,” “embracing change” and “innovation.” These values also extend to the available solutions, which are designed and built so they can be used for decades thanks to the quality of work happening at each stage of the development process.

Geotab also acknowledges its environmental responsibility with regards to protecting and promoting a green economy and is continuing efforts in the innovation and efficient use of materials to help preserve the earth’s natural resources.

If you are interested in Geotab products, please contact PinPoint at sales@pinpointgps.ca or at 905-624-6477.

ELD Data Transfer Options for Geotab Drive

Carriers and owner-operators who have already adopted electronic logging will need to know how to digitally transfer their Hours of Service (HOS) data to an officer at an inspection site. This blog post describes how ELD data transfer works with Geotab Cloud ELD.

ELD Data Transfer Methods for Geotab

Currently, there are three options provided by Geotab:

Report Display — The officer has to be able to access the phone/tablet and view a compliant report of the HOS logs. This method is the fallback if there are any internet connectivity issues when transferring data using other methods.Email — An encrypted message is sent to the FMCSA directly and is then routed back to an officer.Web Services — Using encrypted HTTPS, the data is transferred over the internet to the FMCSA servers and then downloaded by the officer on their eRODs device.

The optional comment is to be filled in by the officer. This is so they are able to pick up transfered data via email/web services on their eROD device.

When using email, the FMCSA will respond to the party that sent the message with an “Okay” or error message.

If the driver’s username is an email address, Geotab will mark the driver as the person the FMCSA will reply to. This lets drivers find out on their own email system the result of the data transfer. The driver’s logs are not returned in the message, just the confirmation receipt.

Example responses from the FMCSA web services include:

Warnings: Invalid VINInformation: Missing Required FieldErrors: Invalid Field Length
If Geotab is running, but the FMCSA servers have connection issues, you will get a message saying “Timeout communicating with FMCSA web service”. In this case, your best plan of action is to try Email or Report Display options.
The “Broadcast” message is provided by the FMCSA to all drivers, and Geotab outputs the broadcast on all web service responses

Sample ELD data transfer error message

At the outset of ELD enforcement, the FMCSA may not have fully rolled out their eRODs system, so drivers may be responsible for handing their phone/tablet to the officer to display the generated Compliance Report.

Advantages of Telematics Transfer by Web

The ELD regulations also allow local data transfer options (USB or Bluetooth®), but those are prone to spotty connections or cumbersome USB wires.

IOT is taking the world by storm, so Geotab embraces the future-based transfer methods that are simple for both drivers and officers. Web services are more responsive and will return confirmation or errors back to the driver immediately from the FMCSA servers.

We recommend web services as the first approach, but you must check with the officer/state as to their chosen methods. Each state has its own choice over what system to use, and it is likely that they will focus on web services.

Both email and web services data are fully encrypted between Geotab and the FMCSA to protect drivers’ data from theft or man-in-the-middle attacks.

Get Up and Running with ELDs

Now, you understand how to deal with getting your electronic data quickly and easily to the FMCSA with the Geotab Drive Transfer logs feature. If you still need to get you or your drivers up and running before the ELD phase begins, please go to our Geotab Cloud ELD page to learn more.

Idling Wastes Fuel and Money

Many things can affect the fuel consumption of your vehicle: your driving style and behaviour, vehicle acceleration, braking and driving speed, overall age and operating condition of your vehicle, temperature, weather, traffic, road conditions, as well as drive systems and powered accessories (e.g. air conditioning) installed on your vehicle.

The millions of Canadians who drive vehicles every day can take steps to help save fuel and money, and reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions that contribute to climate change. The solutions include actions such as carefully planning trips by combining errands, driving at the posted speed limits, avoiding jackrabbit starts and stops, maintaining proper tire pressure, or even walking or taking a bus instead of the car. But one of the easiest actions that motorists can take is to avoid unnecessary idling.

In fact, one of the most powerful arguments in favour of reduced idling is an economic one. For the average vehicle with a 3-litre engine, every 10 minutes of idling costs 300 millilitres (over 1 cup) in wasted fuel – and one half of a litre (over 2 cups) if your vehicle has a 5-litre engine. Unnecessary idling wastes fuel – and wasted fuel is wasted money.

Many Canadian fleet operators have implemented idling policies to reduce their fuel costs and improve their competitiveness. With today’s high fuel prices, individual Canadians might be well-advised to consider adopting their own personal idling policy.

If drivers of light-duty vehicles avoided idling by just three minutes a day, over the year Canadians would collectively save 630 million litres of fuel, and $630 million in fuel costs (assuming a fuel cost of $1.00/L).

Idling longer than 10 seconds uses more fuel and produces more CO2 compared to restarting the engine. But will turning off the vehicle to avoid idling result in higher maintenance costs and extra wear and tear for the starter and battery? Actually, the break-even point to offset any incremental maintenance costs is under 60 seconds. You’ll save money on fuel that should more than offset any potential increase in maintenance costs. And your vehicle won’t produce unnecessary emissions of CO2, the principle greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change.

Considering all factors, ifyou’re going to be stopped for more than 60 seconds – except in traffic – turn the engine off. Unnecessary idling wastes money and fuel, and produces greenhouse gases (GHGs) that contribute to climate change.

If you’re a typical Canadian driver, you should have lots of opportunities to put your personal idling policy into practice. Research indicates that many Canadian motorists idle their vehicles an average of six to eight minutes a day. Results drawn from a 1998 Survey of Attitudes, Awareness and Behaviour of Drivers suggest that in the winter, Canadians voluntarily idle their vehicles for a combined total of more than 75 million minutes a day. For this day alone, over 2.2 million litres of fuel would be used, producing over five million kilograms of GHGs and equal the amount of fuel required to drive over 1100 vehicles for a year or to idle one vehicle for 144 years! We idle about 40 percent less in summer, but for Canadian motorists it still amounts to a significant waste of fuel and money.

There’s another issue to consider. Most gasoline is derived from crude oil, a non-renewable resource. We’re not in danger of running out in the near future, but crude oil reserves in Canada and around the world are dwindling and the demand for oil is expected to increase, resulting in higher oil prices. Why waste this valuable resource?

To sum up, gasoline is costly, its use has significant environmental impacts, and there’s not an endless supply – three good reasons not to waste fuel through unnecessary vehicle idling.

How Technology Impacts Fuel Efficiency

Fuel efficient trucking — is it possible? Based on the results from the Run on Less roadshow, the answer is “Yes.” Read this article to learn how a team of truck drivers proved that fuel efficiency is achievable.

The State of Fuel Economy in Trucking

When it comes to fuel economy in the trucking industry, there is room for improvement. The Annual Fleet Fuel Study by the North American Council for Freight Efficiency (NACFE) reports that the national average truck fuel economy is only 5.83 MPG. Considering the rising cost of fuel in the U.S., the need to improve fuel economy becomes more urgent as time passes.

Fuel impacts the bottom line (fuel costs represent 24% of a fleet’s total operating costs).

Using less fuel benefits the environment through reduced emissions.

Geotab Research Shows Fuel Economy Performance by State

To provide more insight into the state of fuel economy in trucking, Geotab looked at the average fuel economy of a sample of over 30,000 Class 7 and Class 8 trucks equipped with a Geotab GO telematics device, for a one year time span from June 2016 to July 2017, located in the continental United States and Canada.

The findings:

Average miles per gallon of Class 7 and Class 8 trucks is 4.51 MPG to 6.47 MPG.

British Columbia, Alberta, and Saskatchewan had the lowest average MPG in the results.

Rhode Island, Massachussetts, and Delaware tied with Wisconsin for the highest average MPG.

See the heat map with average MPG results (click on button or image below).

The aim of this research is to provide a baseline tool to help trucking fleets in their efforts to improve fuel efficiency through driver coaching and newer truck specification options. The research was conducted using Google BigQuery, Google Datalab Notebooks using Python, and streaming live telematics data from Geotab’s Big Data platform.

As said by Mike Roeth, NACFE Executive Director, “Every year the North American trucking industry spends $40 billion too much on their fuel bill. We can cut this significantly with the right efficiency technologies.” Geotab offers many tools to help businesses optimize their fleets, including fuel efficiency reporting, driver coaching with Geotab GO TALK, predictive maintenance, and remote diagnostics.

Run on Less Results: Geotab Data Shows Fuel Efficiency Is Possible

Fuel efficiency in trucking is within reach, as shown by the results of the Run on Less campaign. Seven Class 8 trucks, equipped with efficiency technologies, and Geotab GO devices, drove over 50,000 miles across the country in a three week roadshow. The Run on Less team successfully met and exceeded the original goal of 9 MPG.

Thanks to fuel efficient technology and driving best practices, the Run on Less fleets saved $7,193 and 2,877 gallons of fuel, and achieved an outstanding 10.1 MPG.

If the over 1.7 million trucks in North America achieved the same MPG, the overall savings would total $24.3 billion, 9.7 billion gallons of diesel fuel, and 98 million tons of CO2 annually, according to the Rocky Mountain Institute.

Industrial Research Assistance Program (IRAP) of National Research Council Canada (NRC) provides customized innovation and funding services to business, accelerating the achievement of strategic goals through innovation and technology.

As one of the NRC IRAP successful stories, PinPoint GPS Solutions scores success with its integrated smart systems for tracking and improving the performance of commercial trucking and transportation fleets.

Is your city a “smart” city? Picture the world of WALL-E, TRON: Legacy, or Tomorrowland. Like the futuristic cities of Hollywood, today’s smart cities harness advances in telecommunications, sensors, data collection and integration, and automation.

While flying cars are not here yet, we are well on our way towards creating the green infrastructure, intelligent transportation, and other data-driven technologies that will make our urban areas healthier and more sustainable.

PinPoint GPS Solutions of Mississauga, Ontario is at the forefront of this transition. With help from the National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC IRAP), PinPoint GPS is creating integrated smart systems for tracking and improving the performance of commercial transportation fleets.

The tech company’s plug-and-play computer module fits into a vehicle and can seamlessly monitor and analyze engine performance, route efficiency, and driver behaviour. Combining artificial intelligence, GPS, and cloud computing, this technology enables clients to “follow” their fleet anywhere and obtain real-time data for business and environmental optimization.

“We started PinPoint GPS to help businesses become greener and improve their bottom line,” recalled Vince Arone, General Manager and Co-Founder of the company. “Where are their vehicles on the road? How fast are they going? How often is the engine idling? We can wirelessly transmit these details back to the client.”

Arone, and his partners at the time, Brian Barry and Bob Farrell, came out of executive positions in the telecommunications industry ten years ago to start PinPoint GPS in Arone’s basement. “The world of autonomous cars, and the telematics that could wirelessly connect them, was on the horizon,” said Arone.

“We wanted to be part of that technology wave – improving business productivity in the transportation and construction sectors while tackling challenges such as urban congestion, air quality, and climate change.”

New technology leads to new clients

The technology was a hit, and the company landed several flagship service companies as clients. However, success brought new challenges, especially for their business processes.

In 2014, PinPoint GPS turned to NRC IRAP for advice and support to enhance their Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system to handle the complexities of managing trackers for thousands of vehicles on the road at the same time. With NRC IRAP on board, the company launched an R&D program to develop a cloud-based system tailored to their needs, hiring several recent computing and engineering graduates to kickstart the work.

“What NRC IRAP did for us was critical and timely,” emphasized Arone. “They helped us conduct a review of our ERP system and develop the software we needed. Now we can handle the majority of our data flow automatically. Our people can focus on analytics and other more complex tasks to advance the business.”

The company now has another NRC IRAP project underway – this time to build new features and compatibilities into their ERP so the software can work with a wider range of clients’ business programs. With data collected by this enhanced solution, PinPoint GPS will be able to provide more comprehensive reporting, including detailed information from individual trackers. A new service ticket system will enable staff to efficiently track client service requests. These additions will help clients gain even greater value from working with PinPoint GPS.

“It’s all part of the business and R&D strategies that we’ve been working on with the company,” explained Baraa El-Kadri, the NRC IRAP Industrial Technology Advisor (ITA) who works with the firm. “The goal is to enhance the company’s core competencies – strengthening its value proposition, and making the product offering more compelling for larger clients. We hope to build long-lasting loyalty to the brand.”

“I have to give kudos to Baraa,” said Arone. “He has a wealth of knowledge, and gives so much time to us. He has connected us with businesses, other government agencies, and universities so we can grow.”

Geotab Registers FMCSA-Compliant ELD Solution

Geotab Cloud ELD solution simplifies compliance for all fleets ahead of the mandate

Toronto, ON – October, 16, 2017 – Geotab, an award-winning globally recognized leader in telematics technology, today announced its electronic logging device (ELD) solution, Geotab Cloud ELD, is now registered with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). A reliable fleet compliance management platform for monitoring and recording Hours of Service (HOS), Geotab Cloud ELD is designed to ease customer implementation of the ELD mandate which aims to improve highway safety and is slated to take effect December 18, 2017.

The Geotab Cloud ELD platform interconnects the Geotab GO telematics device with a mobile device running the Geotab Drive app (available for Android and iOS) through a secured cloud-based server operating the MyGeotab fleet management software. Unlike hard-wired or Bluetooth paired solutions that use a time-based approach with periodic status checks, the GO device continuously records and transmits data to the cloud-based program to effectively monitor and record HOS, including Records of Duty Status (RODS) and Driver Vehicle Inspection Reports (DVIRS). Geotab Cloud ELD does not require an in-vehicle pairing process and is highly reliable and robust as the Geotab platform security is designed for end-to-end protection of data.

“For drivers and fleet operators, choosing an ELD solution that is proven, reliable and FMCSA registered will help ensure accurate driver logs, compliance and a seamless transition ahead of the mandate,” says Neil Cawse, CEO, Geotab. “Geotab Cloud ELD is a great solution leveraging cohesive technologies at an economical cost for a single operator, with integrated features and an open platform for managing large fleets.”

“Every fleet has unique and dynamic management needs, but data logging reliability and driver convenience should not be viewed as mutually exclusive. Transitioning to Geotab’s cloud solution is a logical next step as the commercial trucking industry prepares to meet the ELD mandate,” adds Cawse.

To learn more about the FMCSA ELD mandate and the Geotab Cloud ELD solution, please visit www.geotab.com/eld.

Countdown To The ELD Mandate

In 2015, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration released a decision mandating the use of electronic logging devices (ELD’s). The deadline for compliance with their ELD mandate is now fast approaching – by December of 2017, all carriers that operate within or travel through the United States must switch their paper logs for ELD’s. These ELD’s must be registered with the FMCSA, meeting the technical specifications they’ve laid out, and they must be certified by a manufacturer.

So, what is an ELD? And how does this mandate affect you?

The device itself attaches to a commercial motor vehicle, synchronizes with the engine, automatically records a driver’s hours of service (HoS), and simplifies the driver vehicle inspection report (DVIR) process, while also collecting important information such as location, engine hours, vehicle movement, and miles driven. By providing “snapshots” of the vehicle’s movements and location throughout the day, ELD’s can facilitate considerably more accurate recording of any driver activity.

Beyond fleet compliance with FMCSA regulations, ELD’s offer many advantages to motor carriers. ELD’s allow for increased levels of productivity and efficiency for fleet owners, as well as improving driver safety. Using an ELD saves time and money by simplifying the records of duty process, and increasing the efficiency of vehicle inspections, which significantly reduces the amount of time drivers spend doing paperwork. The DVIR process also is made easier by automating reports, making them easier to submit and access. This allows for more drive time, more clerical time for office staff, and a reduction in paper costs, as paper log books are no longer necessary. The increased HoS compliance that comes from the automatic recording of duty status will be able to prevent fatigued drivers from getting behind the wheel, and the engine fault reporting will allow for better vehicle maintenance.

With the ELD deadline fast approaching, the FMCSA is currently working on the development of the Electronic Records of Duty Status (EROD) software system. This system will ultimately be the one through which all ELD records will be submitted from companies to the FMCSA. Until this software is fully prepared to receive logs, no solution can boast full compliance with regulations, as they have not been exposed to the crucial reporting process of the ELD mandate.

PinPoint offers Geotab Drive Solution; a mobile app that tracks Hours of Service (HoS), Driver Vehicle Inspection Reporting (DVIR), and driver identification. The app syncs data between a Geotab GO device and a tablet to provide functions such as automatic duty status changes, violation alerts, and complete end-to-end workflow inspection. It is estimated that the FMCSA’s EROD solution will be ready for use this summer, and you can expect GeoTab’s Drive Solution to develop the requirements to communicate with the EROD application as soon as the necessary information is released by the FMCSA.

PinPoint has extensive experience with the rollout of the ELD process. Check out what our client, TM3 Inc. has to say about their experience with PinPoint’s ELD solution:

In late 2015, TM3 Inc. reviewed their deployment process for day to day routing of maintenance crews. By reviewing their metrics and working together with their Telematics provider, they planned for the implementation of a three phased project for Electronic Logging Devices, Custom Aerial Inspection application for Bucket Trucks, as well as an integrated Route Planning and scheduling application. “As we measured our administrative and labour cost of processing logs and routes, we knew that paper administration was extremely costly to our overall operation”, said Terry Moore, VP of TM3 Inc. “We engaged with PinPoint GPS Solutions and created a plan to expand our current telematics solution adding their Electronic Log solution on tablet devices in our Heavy Duty Trucks. We expanded in Phase II and III of our Upgrade to add 2 additional applications to minimize paper; customized Aerial Inspection, and real-time routing. These tools allowed us to minimize our inspection times significantly, and gain some huge time savings on our routing processes, as well as making it easier to monitor compliance”. TM3 continues to utilize key features from the PinPoint Solution to manage Engine Fault notifications. Driver Behavior reporting and maintenance on a day to day basis.

Contact Us to find out more about how we can help you receive all the benefits that ELD has to offer.

What You Need To Know About IFTA

What is IFTA?

The International Fuel Tax Agreement is a cooperative tax collection agreement that makes it easier for commercial carriers to report and pay fuel taxes. There are 58 jurisdictions signed on to the agreement – 48 American states, and 10 Canadian provinces. The IFTA redistributes fuel taxes paid by interstate and transnational commercial carriers, ensuring that each member jurisdiction has their fair share of revenue to put towards roads and transportation.

How Does The IFTA Work?

The IFTA requires commercial carriers to pay their fuel taxes proportionally according to the miles driven in each member state or province. Under the IFTA, carriers can obtain an IFTA license, allowing their vehicles to travel through IFTA member jurisdictions, submitting one quarterly fuel tax return to their base jurisdiction. Vehicles registered under the IFTA report the amount of fuel consumed and distance traveled in each jurisdiction to their base jurisdiction, who decides whether they owe taxes or will receive a credit. If not registered with the IFTA, carriers must comply with fuel tax reporting guidelines of the individual states an/or provinces they travel through.

Non-IFTA Jurisdictions

In the United States:

Alaska, Hawaii, District of Columbia

In Canada:

Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Yukon

Mexico

Should You Have an IFTA License?

Carriers with qualified motor vehicles that travel in more than one IFTA jurisdiction must obtain an IFTA license. A qualified motor vehicle is one used, designed, or maintained for the transportation of persons or property, and:

Having two axles and a gross vehicle weight or registered gross vehicle weight exceeding 26 000 pounds or 11 797 kilograms; or

Having three or more axles regardless of weight; or

Is used in combination, when the weight of such combination exceeds 26 000 pounds or 11 797 kilograms gross vehicle or registered gross vehicle weight

We were at National Heavy Equipment Show 2017

PinPoint was at the National Heavy Equipment Show. Met many Heavy equipment professionals who filled the halls of Mississauga’s International Centre, which took place Thursday, Apr 6th and Friday, April 7th.

Record showed 13,000 attendees according to http://www.nhes.ca/, which speaks well of the state of the industry.Special thanks to those who came to visit. We introduced our latest Bluetooth-enabled solution for tracking tasks, assets and people.

We now look forward to the next edition of this show in the spring of 2019; stay tuned to www.NHES.ca for updates.

Telematics – Five Essential Secrets to Painless Deployment

PinPoint Sponsorship At ECAO Industry Conference

On September 22nd, 2016 ECA Ontario tweeted, ‘Thanks to @Pinpoint_GPS for being a sponsor of our @ECAOntario Industry Conference bags. Be sure to visit our product expo!’

Road Safety Tips from ORBA to Ensure Construction Zone Safety

Adhere to posted speed limits and other signage on the road.

Speed limits change in construction zones for a reason. Make sure you follow posted signage and exercise caution in construction zones.

Avoid distractions while driving.

Only use your cell phone when parked, pre-set climate control and plan your route with a GPS before departing. Eliminating distractions will help you stay focused on the road.

Plan ahead to avoid delays.

Give yourself extra time for your commute. Know where construction zones and other delays are beforehand so they’re not unexpected and cause a delay.

Treat construction zones as if they were your own workplace.

Construction zones are road builders’ workplace. Show respect for the workers by treating it as if it were your own workplace.

ORBA’s Site Unseen Campaign

A survey conducted by the Ontario Road Builders’ Association (ORBA) found that many drivers report witnessing a number of other drivers’ bad habits including speeding (87%), weaving (72%) and road rage (61%).

ORBA’s Site Unseen video series campaign recreates the behaviours drivers display in construction zones in other professional settings. Construction zones are workplaces and should be treated with respect and consideration for their workers. The Site Unseen videos will run throughout the summer. The campaign is supported

by ORBA, the Ministry of Transportation, the Ministry of Labour and the Ontario Provincial Police.

ORBA Launches Site Unseen Campaign

A new survey released by the Ontario Road Builders’ Association (ORBA) found that 28% of drivers admit that they are not always focused on the road while driving. This can lead to speeding, weaving or failing to notice road signage, putting both drivers and road workers at risk.

To educate drivers about the safety risks associated with ignoring road rules in construction zones, ORBA has launched an educational campaign. Site Unseenis a video series that imagines what would happen if the types of behaviours drivers display in construction zones were instead conducted by road workers in other professional settings.

The message from ORBA is simple: construction zones are workplaces and should be treated with respect and consideration for their workers. The Site Unseen videos will run throughout the summer. The campaign is supported by ORBA, the Ministry of Transportation, the Ministry of Labour and the Ontario Provincial Police.

Pinpoint’s Support to Fort McMurray

As the Canadian Red Cross continues its response to the devastation left by the massive wildfires in the Fort McMurray area, the employees at Pinpoint GPS Solutions have come together to donate to the cause.

To show support for our customers and all those affected by the fire in Fort McMurray, the company has matched every dollar donated by its employees. This donation, combined with the matching federal funds, should help our friends in a time of need.

Pinpoint salutes the The Canadian Red Cross’ amazing work as they provide accommodations, food, water and supplies to evacuees.

All of us at Pinpoint GPS Solutions wish the Fort McMurry people well and a safe return home.

Geotab Connect Conference in Vegas | CTIA

This is the largest conference in the wireless industry and attracts a global audience interested in M2M connected devices. Over the past year, Geotab has been busy expanding its global footprint and now also has staff in Europe and Latin America as well as partners actively selling in South East Asia, Australia, Japan, and Africa. The conference emphasized the potential, flexibility and longevity of the Geotab device. Geotab’s vast network will have the ability to provide a solution to any problem.

Congratulations SkyBitz

SkyBitz Trailer tracking units wins 2015 IoT Evolution Product of The Year!
Another reason we chose to add SkyBitz to our product lineup, we only choose the best of the best to help serve our customers.

U.S. XPRESS ENTERPRISES SELECTS SKYBITZ TO TRACK NORTH AMERICAN FLEET

HERNDON, Va. – March 9, 2015 – U.S. Xpress Enterprises, the nation’s second largest privately-owned truckload carrier providing transportation services across North America, has chosen industry leading asset management technology solutions from SkyBitz®. U.S. Xpress is deploying SkyBitz’s tracking technology across its fleet of new dry van trailers, as well as existing trailers, this year. U.S. Xpress selected the subscription-based enterprise solution, SkyBitz as a Service, providing consultative technology service, expert onboarding support and immediate implementation with no upfront capital expense.

PinPoint GPS at WWETT Show 2015

We are participating at WWETT Show 2015!

Please join us the world’s largest annual trade show for environmental service professionals.
The show attracts some 12,000 environmental service professionals and exhibitor personnel from 51 countries.

PinPoint GPS at Truck World 2014

During the event, our General Manager – Vince Arone, had a chance to meet with Hayle Wickenheiser. As a keynote speaker she shared her inspirational story on winning gold medal at 2014 Winter Olympics.

Pinpoint’s 4th Year Participation at CMPX 2014

An entire Metro Convention Center filled with thousands of products for heating, air conditioning, ventilation, plumbing, piping, refrigeration and emerging technologies, you’ll see Pinpoint GPS booth among the ones to look out for. This year we kicked off CMPX with new, bright tradeshow booth display.

Three full days filled with learning sessions, fleet tracking demonstrations and give away. Our Sales experts are there to answer all your questions and to demonstrate the latest Geotab’s GO fleet management system.
It’s not too late yet… visit us until Friday at 4pm at Booth 241.

Tim and Faraz at CMPX 2014

Diagnostic & Plug and Play Mock up

Giveaway Shirts

Looking forward to see you soon!

Don’t Miss Pinpoint GPS at CMPX 2014

Please join us on March 19-21, 2014 at CMPX – The Biggest Mechanical & Plumbing tradeshow in Ontario. We are excited to meet and show you the latest plug-and-play technology in the GPS industry.

PinPoint Now at the Mobile World Congress

Brian Barry at MWC, where every vendor has a connected car, truck and van application. Innovations and ideas are showcased at the event with the help of new technologies. M2M is one of the key messages of the show. How to create efficiency and drive productivity through applications like WyzeConnect that connect your back office system to field operations.

PinPoint at the Geotab Connect 2014 Conference!

Last Wednesday PinPoint’s senior management flew down to Florida to the Geotab Connect 2014 conference for three days. The conference emphasized the potential, flexibility and longevity of the Geotab device. Geotab’s vast network will have the ability to provide a solution to any problem. The even showed off brilliant fireworks and finished on a lovely Valentine’s Friday.

PinPoint GPS is at the ORBA Convention!

PinPoint GPS is exhibiting at the 87th ORBA Convention TODAY until 4:30pm! Come visit our booth, Booth V at Royal York Fairmont hotel, located on Floor C.

Christmas is in the Air: Red bows, Gift Boxes and Wines!

We are happy to share the enthusiasm and Christmas spirit inside the four walls of PinPoint Office. We will also be sending out donation initiative for Sick Kids in lieu of opened Christmas and forwarded emails.

On behalf of PinPoint Staff, we would like to greet you

Happy Holidays! May the warmth of hearth and home fill your hearts with joy this holiday season

Feel free to have a glimpse of it…

150 gift boxes from PinPoint’s “Santa’s Little Helpers”

Christmas Tree 🙂

Gift Boxes stuffing (missing the chocolates and USB)

USB to be added in those gift boxes

PinPoint Wines with customize ribbons

PinPoint GPS in Web Summit Dublin 2013

We are ecstatic to share that our Chairman of the Board, Brian Barry, is representing PinPoint GPS Solutions at Dublin Web Summit 2013. This event brings the most creative and innovative companies together from around the world to share ideas and connect.

We look forward to see you in our future events participation. For more event and company announcement, follow us in Linked In

Successful Health and Safety Tradeshow in Alberta!!

After two days of fun-filled and safety conference in BMO Center. Peter and Bob had a successful show! 🙂

We want to thank everyone who spent time to visit our booth and supporting our tradeshow. We also want to say a big thank you to Geotab for sponsoring our tradeshow booth.

We look forward to seeing you on Monday at 11:30 AM. Don’t forget, Booth 906!

PinPoint GPS Fleet Tracking Journal: High Fuel Cost

PinPoint Journal By Peter Paige

Case Study : Site Supervisors

Industry: Construction

Problem: High fuel cost with some supervisors, and lack of accountability to management and subordinates. Fuel by 2 of the supervisors was over double the other 2 with same work load.

Pinpoint Installed four Go6 units in The 4 supervisors truck, they were not told initially that the units were in the vehicles. Benchmarked for one week to see what would happen two supervisors had excessive idle time compounded by multiple return trips to the materials supplier in the same day, and excessive breaks ie Tim Hortons. Two other supervisors had more than necessary idle time but nothing like the first two. They too had multiple trips to the materials supplier.

Ops manager had meeting with all four supervisors after the 1st week to tell them they had these units in their trucks . Reviewed the data with each Site Supervisor, especially the idling and excessive trips to the supplier. One supervisor was warned about the amount of time spent at Fast Food places. All supervisors were asked why the multiple trips, why are they not planning their day better ie list of materials from supplier, so as to stop wasting time and fuel as their job is to be on site.

All Supervisors reminded to turn vehicles off when not required to be running .
Ops manager initiated a bi weekly review of data with Supervisors and then moved to monthly

Results: Able to reduce amount of trips to suppliers from multiple trips per day per site to less than a trip per day , by planning out the materials for the week, after initial week , they were able to reduce idle time by 12% in the 1st month of August . Site Supervisors spend the majority of time on site .
Ops manager is happy with the results and is implementing the data from the Geotab product into one on one reviews

We Are Launching a New Service!

We are pleased to announce that effective immediately, we have significantly augmented our service portfolio to ensure that our customers are able to extract maximum value from their GPS systems. These services are intended to:

Enable you to get features deployed in your account without consuming resources within your organization;

Enable you to take advantage of the PinPoint subject matter experts’ extensive knowledge;

Address specific problems that your business is encountering;

Help you to cut your costs and increase your revenues.

EXTENDED TECHNICAL SUPPORT AND PROFESSIONAL SERVICES

The exciting new service packages include:

Training and Consulting Services: can be in a form of refresher session or one-on-one training to expand the knowledge of new employees and existing employees with the tracking system. We can also give consultation on how to get more out of your GPS system.

Custom Reports: reports with specific metrics to identify and help problems that is unique to your business operations.

Geofences: set up zones to track time spent at each customer’s site and allocation of the vehicle. This can be done by drawing each zone separately, mass imports and editing zones.

On-site Hardware Support Services: provide onsite technical support to address hardware issues. This includes installation, removal and repairs of any GPS device.

Data Reporting: create reports focused on your business historical data and ongoing maintenance of your reports in a weekly or monthly structure. This can be directly viewed from your dashboard. Reporting is focused on the important fleet management factors such as fuel, safety, productivity and vehicle.

These training materials can be replied by any user at any time simply by going to our website at http://www.pinpointgps.ca/training-and-help-videos/. There you will also find a library of short mini-training sessions that are subject specific. All of these services are available at no charge. If you cannot find the answer that you are looking for, call or email us.

COST AND TIMELINES

The cost of our services varies depending on the total quantity and hours involve completing the service, zone or reports.

We can complete the requested reports within one to two weeks based on the requested structure. For technical support schedule, it can depend on the severity and length of the case. As for webinar training, there are several dates available.

We truly believe that your company would greatly benefit from our extended services. For more detailed information, please contact your account manager or visit our services page at www.pinpointgps.ca/services.

PinPoint GPS Fleet Tracking Journal: Risky Driving Behaviour

PinPoint Journal By Bob Farrell

Problem/Scenario: Recently, one of our customers used PinPoint’s systems to identify that it had a chronic speeding problem in its driver pool. Many of the drivers were routinely using company vehicles at speeds of 30 kmph over the limit or greater. The most egregious example was a driver that was clocked at speeds in excess of 140 kmph on multiple occasions.
The customer has now implemented several steps to cut down on this risky behavior:
• Utilization of the driver feedback mechanism to warn drivers of excessive speed;
• Email alerts to management of extreme violations so that action may be taken at the time the problem occurs;
• Routine speeding reports to capture data at a detailed and summary level by driver
• Production of speed graphs when needed for counselling purposes.Results: The program is relatively new (< 2 months old), but has resulted in a 35% reduction in the number of recorded speed violations, and complete elimination of speeds in excess of 128 kmph.

About The Author: Bob Farrell

Bob is one of the founders of PinPoint. Prior to joining our team, Bob spent over 20 years in large multi-national telecommunications companies such as Nortel Networks, Hyperchip, and Arkipelago Inc. as VP of Finance and Sales in Europe and North America. Since Pinpoint’s inception, Bob has played a key role in building the company’s sales and operations team, and has taken an active role in the company’s work with its equipment partners, customers, and trade organizations such as Landscape Ontario, and the Ontario Road Builders Association (ORBA).

About Snow Business:
Snow Business magazine is published on behalf of the Snow & Ice Management Association by Moose River Media. SIMA and the Snow Business editorial team work with an engaged Editorial Advisory Board to deliver the best industry content available in print via Snow Business magazine and online at Goplow.com.

PinPoint GPS Fleet Tracking Journal: Security

PINPOINT JOURNAL BY Nicole Winstanley

CASE STUDY: Security

INDUSTRY: Shipping

Problem: This organization was looking for an option to secure and monitor a portable enclosure in a ship yard. This enclosure would house valuable customer equipment and theft and tampering were major concerns.

DeWalt MobileLock devices were installed in 2 enclosures;

Through the use of sensors, the client was able to monitor any unapproved activity within the enclosure.

The client was able to remotely arm and disarm the devices which was very helpful given the varying work schedules.

Result: The client had the peace of mind that their enclosures were secure and they could offer that same reassurance to their customers.

About The Author: Nicole Winstanley

Nicole is a BBA graduate from St. Francis Xavier University. She spent 13 years in the Telecommunications Industry in both Alberta and Ontario, working for national and multinational companies such as Bell Canada and Ericsson. She joined PinPoint 3 years ago in the role of Manager, Customer Satisfaction and Retention.

PinPoint GPS Fleet Tracking Journal: Arrival and Departure Times

PinPoint Journal By Tim Vezina

Summary and Problem: The organization has 35 trucks that service a large Supermarket Chain for Floor Maintenance. The contract was requesting reports for arrival times and departure times of the technicians on a monthly basis for each store. To meet this requirement the client installed PinPoint’s G06 Plug and Play solution, and incorporated the utilization of Geofencing of each location. Reports are generated on a daily, weekly and monthly basis to present – Arrival Times, Departure Times, and total time spent at each location.

In addition to this the Service Company has been able to implements many other features to generate significant Return:

Reduction in engine idling across the fleet

Real time location of vehicles provided ability to dispatch the closest technician for emergency service calls

The ability to measure that each store had been serviced during the applicable time period, minimizing missed service dates.

Employee performance measurements on length of service calls, routes travelled to minimize kilometres, and driver behaviour metrics on speeding, and rough vehicle usage.

Result: Secured an additional term with supermarket chain with presentation of reports from PinPoints system, and generated significantly more internal visibility to day to day fleet operations. Thus generating more management information to make accurate on the fly critical decisions.

About the Author: Tim Vezina

Tim Vezina has over 15 years’ experience in introducing GPS telematics to help grow small business. He helped bring AVL to Canada in the late 90’s, and has grown with the evolution of the technology. His passion for telematics, has given him with the ability to easily demonstrate how the collection of fleet field data will achieve huge payback. Tim has helped more than 300 companies understand how GPS telematics continues to work from day one of installation. Tim continues to manage more than 150 customers on a day to day basis.

PinPoint GPS Fleet Tracking Journal: Accountability and Timecards

THE PINPOINT JOURNAL BY Aaron Levy

CASE STUDY: Accountability and TimecardsINDUSTRY: Construction

Problem: This organization was looking at fleet tracking to better understand time sheets and where there vehicles were as they were dispersed all over the province. They also wanted to see how many km’s were being used for weekend driving and put in place new policies to help reduce fuel costs and increase driver safety.

• PinPoint GPS devices were installed in 40+ vehicles
• Rules were set up to inform drivers in vehicle of speeding infractions based on driving in excess of 120/km/h – in-vehicle audible alert driver to decrease speed
• Rules were set up to inform management of weekend driving km’s
• Policies were put in place to adhere to set rules regarding speed and weekend driving
• Daily timesheet reports were sent up and set to accounting and management to ensure timesheet compliance

PinPoint GPS Fleet Tracking Journal: Integration to Dispatch

PINPOINT JOURNAL BY Nicole Winstanley

CASE STUDY: Integration to Dispatch

INDUSTRY: HVAC

Problem: This organization currently had a Fleet tracking solution, but had decided it wanted to revamp it’s IT systems and integrate GPS into a new dispatch system. PinPoints GO6 Plug and Play GPS Tracking provides an open integration interface and allowed the customer to connect the two systems with basic integration expertise.

PinPoint GPS devices were installed in 20 fleet vehicles

Minute by minute location was available to dispatch and service managers, and the two systems worked in unison

Client was able to quickly assess driver locations, assign technicians, and provide customers with more accurate information

Reporting of driver activities was simplified so that managers could easily identify and make the necessary adjustments

Result: The Customer was happy that the new GPS system provided an enhanced feature set, and integrated seamlessly into their new Dispatch System.

About The Author: Nicole Winstanley

Nicole is a BBA graduate from St. Francis Xavier University. She spent 13 years in the Telecommunications Industry in both Alberta and Ontario, working for national and multinational companies such as Bell Canada and Ericsson. She joined PinPoint 3 years ago in the role of Manager, Customer Satisfaction and Retention.

PinPoint GPS Fleet Tracking Journal: Utility Services Contractor

PINPOINT JOURNAL BY VINCE ARONE

CASE STUDY: Safety and Improved Customer Support

INDUSTRY: Utility Services Contractor

Problem: This organization was looking at Fleet tracking for some time to provide “visibility” of its high value fleet as well as being able to provide current updates to customers and supervisors of its staff. The client wanted better understanding of its fleets operation and looked to better meet its customers SLA (Service level agreement)

PinPoint GPS devices were installed in nearly 100 fleet vehicles;

Minute by minute location was available to dispatch and service managers- safety of the drivers and heavy equipment was known at all time

The client was able to quickly defend a drivers arrival and departure and satisfy an urgent request

Fleet utilization reports were able to determine which vehicles were used most in a given month and better plan for subsequent routing

Daily Start and End times were easily provided to supervisors for effective record keeping

Results: Clear visibility of all its drivers; supervisors are able to ensure all drivers return safely from each job

About the Author: Vince Arone

Vince, one of the founders of PinPoint, is a Professional Engineer of Ontario with MBA from Schulich School of Business at York U. Vince has over 15 years of sales and management experience in multi-national telecommunication companies such as Ericsson, Siemens and Lucent. He also spent the last 5 years working within the Telematics industry.

Lucky Winner of $50 Gift Card from our Website Launch Survey

PinPoint team would like to thank all the participants who took 2 minutes of their busy time to share their feedback to us.

As promised, we conducted a random draw from the submitted survey on July 19, 2013 at 2:00 PM.

The lucky winner of $50 gift card is….

Tom Long from Mackay Heating

Chance to win $50 Gift Card in 2 minutes!

Take this survey now and win! All you need to do is answer 5 quick questions in less than 2 minutes and we will include your name on July 19, 2013 draw. We really appreciate your thoughts on our new site. CLICK HERE!

Winner of $25 Coffee Gift Card

We want to thank all the participants for your time to make our first Customer Survey email campaign successful. As promised, we’ve collected the names and picked the winner randomly.

PinPoint Client Survey Results & Next Steps!

PinPoint Client Survey Results & Next Steps!

In early December 2012, PinPoint issued its annual Client Survey.
Our goal was to better understand how we could serve you, because frankly good service is not enough, we want to be the best.

Overall Results:

More than 85% of our clients are very happy with our service and were willing to recommend us to others. While we received positive reviews overall, we also received some very good constructive criticism, which highlighted potential areas of improvement.

Sales Representatives Specific Results:

The sales representatives were rated on four categories – Timeliness, Professionalism, Industry Knowledge and Customer Service. They did well, gaining an average rating of:

3.3 out of a possible 4, which corresponds to ‘Good’.

Client Support Specific Results:

The team was rated 3.0 on responsiveness, 3.2 on both professionalism and customer service and 3.3 on technical knowledge, for an overall average rating of:

3.2 out of a possible 4, which corresponds to a ‘Good’.

Opportunities for Growth:

Some Respondents indicated:

client assistance was only provided ‘moderately quickly’

a need for improved communication between staff and client (reduced emailing back and forth)

they required more in-depth training to get the most out of our system

PinPoint Joins ORBA

PinPoint Joins ORBA!

PinPoint GPS Solutions is pleased to announce that it joined the Ontario Road Builders Association (ORBA). PinPoint had the pleasure of participating in ORBA’s 86th Annual Convention, which explored leadership innovation in transportation environments.

PinPoint enjoyed the opportunity to meet and exchange views with ORBA’s members. Through our engagement we learned:

members were interested in learning more about how we have helped a large construction firm save more than $1,100 per truck, per year in fuel; and

participants were surprised at how simple and quick it is to implement plug-and-play fleet tracking solutions into their organization and see results with very little effort.

PinPoint continues to lead in providing fleet tracking solutions to the construction sector. Our new membership will enable us to better serve our clients in this area.

For more information on PinPoint GPS Solutions and how our products and services can help you increase efficiencies and decrease operating costs please contact us at sales@pinpointgps.ca or 1-855-624-6477.

PinPoint Joins BILD

PinPoint GPS Solutions Inc. is pleased to announce that it has recently joined BILD Association.

“The Building Industry and Land Development Association was formed through the merger of the Greater Toronto Home Builders’ association (GTHBA) and the Urban Development Institute/Ontario. BILD is the voice of the land development, home building and professional renovation industry in the Greater GTA. BILD represents more than 1,350 member companies.”

CMX/CIPHEX 2012: A Huge Success!

According to HRAI Association:

“The industry’s leading trade event for the HVACR and Plumbing sectors finished its 2012 run with sustained attendance numbers and positive comments from exhibitors. The 20th biennial production of the CMX-CIPHEX Show at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, March 22, 23 and 24, 2012 attracted over 14,000 registrants who came to the show seeking new products, information and plenty of industry networking.

“With over 900 booths, CMX-CIPHEX is truly the showplace for the industry,”
says Show Committee Chairman, David Morden. “Not only is it a source for new products and trends, it’s an outstanding opportunity to come face-to-face with suppliers. You get answers and pick up new ideas.”

Those sentiments were echoed by Show Manager, Patrick Shield. “The show floor was busy each day of the show and our numbers indicate that more than 10% of our attendees visited the show for two and three days. That says we have the kind of products and the information they’re looking for. They’re willing to set aside time from a busy schedule to devote themselves to a day or more at their industry show.”

Ron Whaling, Owner of Ron Whaling Plumbing Ltd. in St. Pauls, Ontario was the lucky winner of the 2012 Nissan Commercial Van, which will be outfitted for his needs with customized fittings as well as one year of complimentary GPS service from PinPoint GPS Solutions.

CMX-CIPHEX is one of the largest shows in North America for the mechanicals industry and has become a respected source for contractors, specifiers, architects, building managers and consulting engineers to get the latest information and hands-on opportunities to come face-to-face with tomorrow’s trends.

PinPoint at CMX-CIPHEX 2012

The CMX/CIPHEX trade show held during March 22-24 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre was a success! We would like to thank the hundreds of people who came out and stopped by our booth during the show. We appreciate your interest and support. Here are some photos of us at the event!

CMX-CIPHEX 2012 National Trade Show

PinPoint will be participating in the CMX-CIPHEX show this coming March 22-24. For those that are not familiar, CMX-CIPHEX is the National Trade Show for the air conditioning, heating, plumbing, waterworks and water-qualities, piping, refrigeration and ventilation industries. The trade show combines the resources and influence of the two largest industry associations (HRAI & CIPH) producing Canada’s most influential and largest mechanical trade show.(more…)

CWRE Exhibition 2011

On November 9 & 10, 2011, PinPoint GPS hosted a booth at The Canadian Waste & Recycling Expo in Montreal. Bob Farrell and Tim Vezina attended from our organization and found it was a great opportunity to discuss our experience with GPS in this industry and gain insight from the many waste management professionals who visited our booth.(more…)

CMX CIPHEX 2010 National Trade Show

PinPoint GPS Solutions will be a proud exhibitor at the upcoming CMX CIPHEX 2010 National Trade Show & Learning Forum on March 25 – 27, 2010 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre – North Building at 255 Front Street West, Toronto, Ontario. This show is dedicated to the Air Conditioning, Heating, Hearth, Plumbing, Piping, Refrigeration and Ventilation Industries. (more…)

PinPoint GPS invited to share successes

“Join us and learn how our latest technology is helping HVAC/Mechanical Companies improve their customer experiences as well as “doing more” with their existing fleet in the current economic conditions.”

PinPoint Returns to Congress

Please visit us at Landscape Ontario’s 36th Annual International Horticultural Lawn and Garden Trade Show and Conference (Booth 828C), at the Toronto Congress Centre.

No matter what part of the horticulture industry you specialize in, there are many different seminars for you at the Congress Conference.(more…)

PinPoint selected by HRAI

PinPoint GPS Solutions Inc. is pleased to announce that it has recently been selected by the Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Institute of Canada (HRAI) for inclusion in its Member Advantage Program.

Our success to date has been the result of actively working with associations like HRAI and directly assisting business owners in implementing an effective GPS system. We do this in a manner that provides a win – win – win solution for employees, customers, and management.(more…)

PinPoint at Congress 2008!

Canada’s International Horticultural Lawn and Garden Trade Show & Conference, hosted by Landscape Ontario, will take place January 8, 9, 10, 2008 at the Toronto Congress Centre. As Canada’s largest award-winning Horticultural Lawn and Garden Trade Show, it will feature over 7 acres of exhibitors and over 50 hours of in-depth seminars.

PinPoint will provide Complimentary Trade Show Passes to interested participants. Contact PinPoint at office@pinpointgps.ca before January 3rd, 2008 for your complimentary pass.

“Smart Contracts: Protecting Yourself”

Rob Kennaley has a long association with Landscape Ontario and is a seasoned professional in supporting Landscape Ontario Members with expert legal advice. On Sept 12th, Rob addressed the Snow and Ice Symposium at Landscape Ontario’s offices in Milton, with his presentation: “Smart Contracts: Protecting Yourself”.

Risk Management

Among other things, Rob emphasized the need for well executed contracts to protect the LO member as well as the Client. A contract should include such topics as Scope of Work, Specification and Schedules, Site Plans, Work to be performed and limitations. Snow Removal companies strive to meet their contract’s obligations and keep their client’s premises safe for commuting. Unfortunately, Slip and Fall claims are part of this business and can prove to be costly for all parties. A successful lawsuit can send your insurance costs spiraling and in some cases make your company uninsurable Although it is not possible to remove the risk of such claims totally; the good news is that you can take steps to minimize that risk and demonstrate that not only did you act in good faith but you took necessary steps to ensure the requirements of the contract are met. The following are a few essential guidelines to help you during the Snow Season

Contract Negotiation

The first step in the process is to ensure you have a contract that clearly outlines the obligations of each party. Property manager’s often favor using a “one size fits all contract”. If possible, insist on using a contract which is specifically drafted to reflect the unique nature of winter maintenance services, such as Landscape Ontario’s Standard Form Snow removal contract. If in doubt where you are obligated to use the client’s forms, take the necessary steps to have independent legal advice. Make sure that it does not hold the other party harmless in the event of a slip & fall for anything beyond the contractor’s breach of contract or negligence. Also, do not promise the impossible, such as keeping the premises clear of snow and ice at all times. Ensure that you are not assuming risk in other areas of the property which are not stipulated in the contract, such as indoor maintenance, proper lighting, sidewalk quality etc. A well designed site map is always recommended

Record Keeping

Rob noted that when winter storms roll in, time becomes a scarce resource. In the rush to beat the onslaught of snow, it is often tempting to move onto the next site and record your activities after the fact. This can lead to errors or uncertainty if records are later required to support the defence of a slip and fall claim. Even with the best contracts possible, it is not possible to eliminate the risk of slip and fall claims. As a Professional, it is imperative that you keep prudent records of your Snow removal activities as proof of work completion. If a slip and fall lawsuit case occurs, your records will be critical towards proving what work was performed. It is highly recommended that you have the essential documents to support your claims of having met the contract obligations. At each site carefully record your activities. If it is a large property, you will need to break the record keeping up. Rob noted that GPS technology is very useful and worth considering because it can automate the record keeping process, ensuring that accuracte records are taken in a timely fashion and because it eliminates a lot of the time and paperwork associated with record keeping. GPS records represent an unbiased account of the event in question.

Protocol

Ensure your employees are aware of your record keeping expectations and follow up with them regularly that they are complying with these requirements. Should you have to defend a Slip and Fall Claim, you will need to demonstrate to the court that not only did you have an effective record keeping system, but that you trained your employees and properly evaluated their performance.

PinPoint meets Landscape Ontario

PinPoint is committed to the development of an effective long term working relationship with Landscape Ontario and its members to ensure that their interests are met. The PinPoint offering is based on a solution aimed at enhancing the members’ businesses through the use of GPS technology.

The key elements include:

Specialization – Solution focused on the Landscaping and Snow and Ice Management.

Service to the Landscape Ontario Membership- The members will be served by dedicated PinPoint staff.

Product Strength and Flexibility – PinPoint has a strong technical platform with versatility.

Platform for Future Evolution – PinPoint will work with Landscape Ontario and its committees to enhance the current platform to continue to meet tomorrow’s needs.

Favorable Investment Terms and Options – A unique offering has been developed to provide an affordable and cost-effective implementation.

If you are a Landscape Ontario member and would like to learn more, please contact Brian Barry or Bob Farrell at (905) 361-2880.

GPS demo for Landscape Ontario

On September 12, 2006, the 2006 Snow and Ice Symposium will be held at Landscape Ontario’s head office in Milton, Ontario, Canada, from 9:00am to 4:00pm. The Synposium is a full day seminar devoted to the most current operations and management information.

Headline speaker, Dale Keep, of Ice and Snow Technologies, Inc. from Walla Walla, Washington, will share his expert advice on Snow and Ice Management. He will explain the usage, pros and cons of sand, salt, and liquids for winter maintenance programs.

Bob Farrell, Vice President Sales Operations, PinPoint GPS Solutions Inc., will provide a demonstration on how GPS systems work, and how they can be an effective business tool.

The Ontario Ministry of Transportation’s Heather McClintock will present “From the Trenches at MTO“, outlining the Ministry’s experience with pre-wetted salt and de-icing liquids.

“Smart Contracts: Protecting Yourself” will deal with the essentials of negotiating effective snow contracts, the difference between good and poor agreements, and the provisions necessary for the scope of work.

Golf Tournaments Sponsored by PinPoint

PinPoint was pleased to be a sponsor in both the Toronto Chapter’s Dick Sale Memnorial Charity Golf Tournament, as well as the Upper Canada chapter’s Annual Golf Tournament over the weekend

On Friday, PinPoint sponsored the longest drive competition at the Dick Sale event in Nobleton, Ontario, which saw over 200 golfers vying for the trophy.

After the tourney, PinPoint also donated a $750 gift certificate to one lucky golfer.

Saturday saw over 40 golfers take part in a round of golf with a prize donated by PinPoint. Congratulations to Paul Doornbos for winning the PinPoint Trophy at the Upper Canada Chapter’s Golf Tournament.